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The term “shadow IT” has become more prominent over the last two years as Public Cloud has become more and more the choice for business leaders.

The Wikipedia definition is:-

“Shadow IT is a term often used to describe IT systems and IT solutions built and used inside organizations without explicit organizational approval. It is also used, along with the term “Stealth IT,” to describe solutions specified and deployed by departments other than the IT department.”

Talking to a Sales Leader of a FTSE 250 company as part of a Social Selling presentation was enlightening and interesting.

This Sales Director had a business requirement which was not available though standard functionality in their CRM system. They went to the IT Department and asked them to build something. The IT departments recommendation was to “knock something up in Sharepoint“. The business leader said, “No, we need something that the sales people will use.” After multiple iterations between the Sales Leader and IT, the Business Leader got a local start up to come in and pitch ideas. The start-up got the business.

The agreement is that the start-up will do the development and then will sell the software as an off the shelf application.

It was emphasized, That IT just could not step up and provide what the business wanted. I’m sure your IT department is not like that, but for CIOs, this could be the start of a worrying trend.

Would be interested in your comments. Have you come across something similar? is this a one off? What do you think about Shadow IT is it growing or shrinking?

Tim Hughes is a Social Selling Innovator and Pioneer his blog has become a reference point for Sales People throughout the world to get hints and tips to get into Social Selling; Newbies and Influencers alike. Tim’s 27 years as a quota carrying salesperson, means he cuts the fluff and speaks in a no nonsense style. The blog is not about slogans but about how you can use Social to allow you to over achieve your quota, quicker.

Tim Hughes is a Speaker and Blogger on Social Selling and be can be contacted @Timothy_Hughes or Tim_Hughes1@hotmail.com or contact me at LinkedIn